Centralized lost and found system

ABSTRACT

In one embodiment, a system and method for reporting lost items includes presenting a lost item reporting link associated with an entity having a plurality of different physical establishment locations; receiving a user selection of the lost item reporting link; presenting at a website, in response to the user selection of the lost item reporting link, a graphical user interface configured to solicit lost item recovery information, the website being associated with the entity having the plurality of different physical establishments; receiving the lost item recovery information via the graphical user interface; and transmitting the lost item recovery information to a third party online lost and found system.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Everyone has forgotten a personal item at least once. Once lost, theitems may or may not ever be returned to the rightful owner. Forexample, when on vacation, a user may forget an item(s) in a hotel room.In another example, a customer may forget an item in a rental car,sporting event, or any other establishment or event. The most commonitem left in hotel rooms is chargers, such as a cell phone charger.However, any other valuable items may also be lost or left behind suchas clothing, cell phones, jewelry, and the like. Typically hotelpersonnel simply toss the lost charger in a lost-and-found box at thefront desk, wait for a phone call from the customer, then rummagethrough the lost-and-found box to see if the description provided by thecustomer matches any charger they have in the lost-and-found box.

For large entities having many establishment or locations throughout theworld or brokers acting as intermediaries for those establishments,reporting and returning lost and found items is even more difficult.Currently, the typical method of reporting lost and found items at largeentities involves receiving a report via telephone form a customer. Thereport is then transcribed and forwarded to one of their manyestablishments or converted to email and forwarded individually. Thecurrent process is labor intensive, inefficient and prone to manyerrors, including being lost or never used to reunite the lost item withits owner.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of the invention provide a centralized lost and found systemfor large entities that have a plurality of establishment or locations.The centralized lost and found system will allow users to recover theirlost items in a cost effective and efficient manner from at least oneestablishment or location of the large entity.

In one embodiment, a method for reporting lost items includes presentinga lost item reporting link associated with an entity having a pluralityof different physical establishment locations, receiving a userselection of the lost item reporting link, presenting at a website, inresponse to the user selection of the lost item reporting link, agraphical user interface configured to solicit lost item recoveryinformation, the website being associated with the entity having theplurality of different physical establishments, receiving the lost itemrecovery information via the graphical user interface, the lost itemrecovery information concerning a lost item and including at least (i) adesignation one of the plurality of different physical establishmentlocations, (ii) description of lost item, (iii) contact information,(iv) shipping information for the lost item, transmitting the lost itemrecovery information to a third party online lost and found system,preparing a lost and found report based on the lost item recoveryinformation, and initiating electronic transmission of the lost andfound report to the designation of one of the plurality of differentphysical establishment locations.

In one embodiment, a computer readable medium including at leastcomputer program code stored thereon for reporting lost items comprisescomputer program code for presenting a graphical user interfaceconfigured to solicit lost item recovery information, the graphical userinterface being presented via a website associated with an entity havinga plurality of different physical establishment locations, computerprogram code for receiving the lost item recovery information submittedvia the graphical user interface, the lost item recovery informationconcerning a lost item and including at least (i) a designation one ofthe plurality of different physical establishment locations, and (ii)description of lost item, computer program code for transmitting thelost item recovery information to a third party online lost and foundsystem, computer program code for preparing a lost and found reportbased on the lost item recovery information, and computer program codefor initiating electronic transmission of the lost and found report tothe designation of one of the plurality of different physicalestablishment locations.

In another embodiment, a method for reporting lost items, includes (i)distributing a transaction identifier to a recent customer, (ii)providing an online lost item reporting location, receiving thetransaction identifier at the online lost item reporting location, (iii)retrieving, from a data storage device, customer transaction dataassociated with the received transaction identifier, (iv) directing agraphical user interface to be presented to solicit lost item recoveryinformation, the graphical user interface being presented via a websiteassociated with an entity having a plurality of different physicalestablishment locations, (v) receiving the lost item recoveryinformation submitted via the graphical user interface, the lost itemrecovery information concerning a lost item and including at least adescription of lost item, and (iv) transmitting the lost item recoveryinformation and at least a portion of the customer transaction data to athird party online lost and found system.

In one embodiment, an online lost and found system includes a memoryconfigured to store computer program code, a database configured tostore lost item information for a plurality of different establishments,and at least one computing device including at least one processor forexecuting at least a portion of the computer program code, wherein thecomputer program code includes at least: (i) computer program code forreceiving a lost item report including a transaction identifierassociated with a transaction associated with a person that has lost anitem, the lost item report including at least a description of the lostitem; (ii) computer program code for retrieving customer transactiondata associated with the transaction identifier; (iii) computer programcode for recording data for the lost item in the database; (iv) computerprogram code for determining a particular establishment from theplurality of establishments based on the transaction identifier; (v)computer program code for initiating notification of the particularestablishment of the lost item; and (vi) computer program code forfacilitating recovery of the lost item to the person that lost the item.

Other aspects and advantages of the invention will become apparent fromthe following detailed description taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings which illustrate, by way of example, theprinciples of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated into and constitute apart of this specification, illustrate one or more example embodimentsand, together with the description of example embodiments, serve toexplain the principles and implementations.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 illustrates an example centralized lost and found system.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example method for reporting a lost item.

FIG. 3 illustrates another example method for reporting a lost item.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example method for reporting the lost iteminformation to a centralized lost and found system.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example graphical user interface to report lostitem information.

FIG. 6 illustrates a block diagram of a computing device according toone embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS

Embodiments are described herein in the context of a centralized lostand found system. The following detailed description is illustrativeonly and is not intended to be in any way limiting. Other embodimentswill readily suggest themselves to such skilled persons having thebenefit of this disclosure. Reference will now be made in detail toimplementations as illustrated in the accompanying drawings. The samereference indicators will be used throughout the drawings and thefollowing detailed description to refer to the same or like parts.

In the interest of clarity, not all of the routine features of theimplementations described herein are shown and described. It will, ofcourse, be appreciated that in the development of any such actualimplementation, numerous implementation-specific decisions must be madein order to achieve the developer's specific goals, such as compliancewith application- and business-related constraints, and that thesespecific goals will vary from one implementation to another and from onedeveloper to another. Moreover, it will be appreciated that such adevelopment effort might be complex and time-consuming, but wouldnevertheless be a routine undertaking of engineering for those ofordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure.

In accordance with the present invention, the components, process steps,and/or data structures may be implemented using various types ofoperating systems, computing platforms, computer programs, and/orgeneral purpose machines. In addition, those of ordinary skill in theart will recognize that devices of a less general purpose nature, suchas hardwired devices, field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs),application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), or the like, may alsobe used without departing from the scope and spirit of the inventiveconcepts disclosed herein.

Embodiments of the invention allow users to recover their lost items ina cost effective and efficient manner from large entities having aplurality of establishments or locations. Since the process isautomated, efficient, and more cost effective, the likely hood that theuser is reunited with his lost item is high. Furthermore, the cost ofshipping is lower than the cost to replace the lost item. As such, aconsumer (and establishment) may be more inclined to have their lostitems returned rather than buying a new one.

Several embodiments of the invention are discussed below with referenceto FIGS. 1-6. However, those skilled in the art will readily appreciatethat the detailed description given herein with respect to these figuresis for explanatory purposes as the invention can extend beyond theselimited embodiments.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example centralized lost and found system. Thesystem 100 can have a plurality of large entities 110 a, 110 b. Thelarge entities 110 a, 110 b may have a plurality of physical locations114 a-n (where n is an integer). The large entities 110 a, 110 b may be,for example, a large hotel chain having a plurality of physical hotels.In another example, the large entity 110 a, 110 b may be a rental carcompany having a plurality of physical rental locations. In stillanother example, the large entity 110 a-110 b may be a constructioncompany having a plurality of malls.

Each of the large entities 110 a, 110 b may have a customer database 112a, 112 b. The customer database may be configured to store customerinformation such as name, contact information, electronic mail address,reservation dates, reservation fees, payment fees, check-out dates, andany other desired information. Although not illustrated, each location114 a-n may also have a customer database configured to store customerinformation.

The system 100 may also have a broker 104. The broker 104 may be anythird party entity acting as intermediaries for the large entities 110a, 110 b. For example, the broker may be similar to Travelocity®,Priceline®, or Hotels.com® whereby the broker may provide a centralizedlocation for a plurality of customer devices 102 a-n to compare andselect goods or services from a list of large entities. Broker 104 mayalso have a customer database 106 configured to store customerinformation such as name, contact information, electronic mail address,reservation dates, reservation fees, payment fees, check-out dates, andany other desired information.

When a customer device 102 a-n purchases a good or server from broker104, broker 104 may store the customer information in customer database106. Broker 104 may also transmit the customer information to theassociated large entity 110 a, 110 b for storage in its associatedcustomer database 112 a, 112 b. Customer device 102 a-n can be acomputing device such as, but not limited to, a desktop computer, alaptop computer, a tablet computer, or a netbook computer. In anotherembodiment, customer device 102 a-n may be a portable electronic devicesuch as a cell phone, a smart phone, a portable media player, a portablegaming device, a personal digital assistant or the like.

Example

Examples are provided for illustrative purposes only and are not meantto be limiting. For example, although illustrated with the large entityas a hotel chain, any other type of large entity may benefit from thepresent invention such as car rental companies, airlines, eventcoordinators, cruise ship, casino, and the like.

A customer device 102 a-n may use Broker 104 to make a reservation tostay at Great Hotel, in Sacramento, Calif. for one (1) day and anotherGreat Hotel location in San Diego, Calif. for the following day. Broker104 may store the customer information in its customer database 106,assign a transaction identifier to the client reservation, and transmita reservation notification to the corporate office for Great Hotel. Thereservation notification includes at least some or all of the customerinformation.

After the customer's stay in Great Hotel in Sacramento and San Diego, heremembers that he left his cell phone charger in one of the hotel rooms.Unfortunately, he does not remember which Great Hotel room. The customermay then transmit a lost item report to Broker 104 via Broker's 104website.

In one embodiment, there may be a link on the Broker's website to inputlost item information. When the link is clicked, customer may bedirected to a graphical user interface (GUI) as illustrated and furtherdescribed with reference to FIG. 5. The GUI may have the look and feelof the Great Hotel website, however, the lost item information may, infact, be received by lost and found server 108. Thus, the fact that thelost item information is transmitted to the lost and founder server 108is transparent to the customer.

Broker 104 and large entities 110 a, 110 b may be configured tocommunicate with lost and found server 108 via network 120 through anyknown wired or wireless connections. Wireless connections may be anyknown wireless methods such as a 3G wireless technology, 4G wirelesstechnology, Bluetooth, wireless universal serial bus, WiMax, IEEE802.11x, LTE, or 802.16 technology, radio frequency, narrow-beaminfrared (IR) sensor, point-to-point microwave communication, WiFi, orany other known wireless methods.

In another embodiment, when the customer made the reservation, he wasassigned a transaction identifier unique to the customer. The uniquetransaction identifier may be displayed on the customer's receipt, anemail transmitted to the customer, or transmitted in any known methodsto the customer. For example, when the customer checks out of GreatHotels, he may be provided the transaction identifier. In anotherexample, the transaction identifier may be included with a follow-upcorrespondence to the customer for customer feedback. The GUI used toinput lost item information may direct the customer to input the intransaction identifier. Broker 104 may match the transaction identifierto the customer and pre-populate some of the lost item information, suchas contact information, customer name, hotel stayed at, and the like.The lost item information may then be transmitted and/or received bylost and found server 108.

In still another embodiment, customer may go directly to the Great Hotelwebpage to input lost item information. The Great Hotel webpage may havea link the customer may select to input the lost item information. Thecustomer may input his transaction identifier. Great Hotel may contactBroker 104 to obtain customer information. Broker 104 may match thetransaction identifier to the customer and pre-populate some of the lostitem information, such as contact information, customer name, hotelstayed at, and the like.

Once lost and found server 108 obtains the lost item information, lostand found server 108 may transmit a lost item report or notification toboth the Great Hotel locations in Sacramento and San Diego (since thecustomer was not sure where he lost the cell phone charger) as well asBroker 104. The lost item report or notification may inform the customerthat the lost item information was received and that a notification wastransmitted to each of the Great Hotel locations. The lost item reportor notification transmitted to Broker 104 and/or each of the Great Hotellocations may inform the hotels that a cell phone charger was lost andto contact the customer to if the lost item is/was found.

The lost item report or notification may be transmitted to the customer,Broker 104, and Great Hotel via any known transmission methods such asvia electronic mail, facsimile, and the like. The electronic mailaddress, facsimile number, or any other contact information for thecustomer may be obtained from the Broker 106 and/or Great Hotel (e.g.large entity 110 a, 110 b). Additionally, the electronic mail address,facsimile number, or any other contact information for the Broker 104and/or Great Hotel (e.g. large entity 110 a, 110 b) may be stored on thelost and found server 108.

Using lost and found server 108 to organize and coordinate lost andfound items and information provides for a centralized lost and foundsystem. The centralized system provides for a more efficient andorganized reporting system of lost items. Lost and found server 108 mayalso be configured to maintain complete transaction logs that can servesas a chain of custody for can of the lost items, may automaticallyelectronically notifying all parties to the transactions as to thecurrent status of the lost report, collect payment for return shippingcharges of a recovered lost item to the customer, and any other desiredservices for a lost and found item.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example method for reporting a lost item. Themethod 200 may begin with presenting a lost item reporting link at 202on a GUI. If the link is selected at 204, a lost item informationreporting GUI may be presented at 206. If the link is not selected at204, the method 200 may wait until the link is selected.

The GUI to report lost item information may be similar to the GUIdescribed and illustrated with reference to FIG. 5. The lost iteminformation may be any information about the lost item such as where andwhen the item was lost, a description of the lost item, contactinformation for the customer, and the like. The lost item informationmay be received at 208 and transmitted to a third-party centralized lostand found system at 210.

FIG. 3 illustrates another example method for reporting a lost item. Themethod 300 may begin with providing a customer with a transactionidentifier at 302. When the customer made a reservation, purchased aservice or product, or otherwise interacted with a broker (e.g. Broker104 illustrated in FIG. 1) or large entity (e.g. large entity 110 a, 110b) he may be assigned a unique transaction identifier. The uniquetransaction identifier may be displayed on the customer's receipt, anemail transmitted to the customer, or transmitted in any known methodsto the customer. For example, when the customer checks out of a hotel,returns a car, or any other similar transaction, he may be provided thetransaction identifier. In another example, the transaction identifiermay be included with a follow-up correspondence to the customer forcustomer feedback.

If the customer lost an item, a lost item report may be displayed at304. The GUI used to input lost item information may direct the customerto input the in transaction identifier. If the transaction identifier isnot received at 306, the method may await for receipt of the transactionidentifier. If the transaction identifier is received at 306, customerinformation associated with the unique transaction identifier may beretrieved from a database at 308. The database may be associated with abroker (e.g., broker 104 illustrated in FIG. 1) or large entity (e.g.,large entity 110 a, 110 b).

Lost item information may be requested at 310. The lost item informationmay be information, such as contact information, customer name, productor service used (e.g. hotel stayed at, car rented, and the like). Thelost item information may then be received at 312. The lost iteminformation and at least a portion of the customer information may betransmitted to a centralized lost and found server at 314.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example method for reporting the lost iteminformation to a centralized lost and found system. The method 400 maybegin by receiving lost item information at 402 by the centralized lostand found system. The lost item information may be information, such ascontact information, customer name, product or service used (e.g. hotelstayed at, car rented, and the like). In one embodiment, at least partof the lost item information may include customer information.

The lost and found system may then prepare a lost item report at 404.The location of the establishment (e.g., location of a hotel, locationof the rental car company, and the like) may be determined at 406. Thedetermination of the location of the establishment may be based upon, inpart, the received lost item information. Once location of theestablishment is determined, notification of the lost item report may betransmitted to the establishment and the customer associated with thelost item at 408.

The lost item report or notification may inform the customer that thelost item information was received and that a notification wastransmitted to the establishment (and/or broker). The lost item reportor notification transmitted to the establishment (and/or broker) mayinform them of a lost item and to contact the customer to if the lostitem is/was found.

The lost item report or notification may be transmitted via any knowntransmission methods such as via electronic mail, facsimile, and thelike. The electronic mail address, facsimile number, or any othercontact information for the customer may be obtained from the broker(e.g. Broker 104 illustrated in FIG. 1) and/or large entity (e.g. largeentity 110 a, 110 b). Additionally, the electronic mail address,facsimile number, or any other contact information for the broker (e.g.Broker 104 illustrated in FIG. 1) and/or large entity (e.g. large entity110 a, 110 b) may be stored on the lost and found system. The lost itemreport or notification may also be the notification as discussed in U.S.patent application Ser. No. 13/22,244, filed Sep. 1, 2011, entitled“SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR INVENTORY AND RETURN OF LOST ITEMS”, which ishereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for allpurposes, or U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/631,456, filed Sep. 28,2012, entitled “LOST ITEM DATABASE TO FACILITATE RECOVERY OF LOSTITEMS”, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entiretyfor all purposes.

Using a centralized lost and found server to organize and coordinatelost and found items and information provides for a centralized lost andfound system. The centralized system provides for a more efficient andorganized reporting system of lost items. The centralized lost and foundsystem may also be configured to maintain complete transaction logs thatcan serves as a chain of custody for can of the lost items, mayautomatically electronically notifying all parties to the transactionsas to the current status of the lost report, collect payment for returnshipping charges of a recovered lost item to the customer, and any otherdesired services for a lost and found item as described in U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 13/22,244, filed Sep. 1, 2011, entitled “SYSTEM ANDMETHOD FOR INVENTORY AND RETURN OF LOST ITEMS” and U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 13/631,456, filed Sep. 28, 2012, entitled “LOSTITEM DATABASE TO FACILITATE RECOVERY OF LOST ITEMS”.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example graphical user interface to report lostitem information. The GUI 500 may have indicia 502 associated with thelarge entity. The lost item report may emulate the large entity websiteso that reporting of the lost item information to the centralized lostand found system appears seamless to the customer.

The large entity may have a plurality of physical establishments orlocations. Each establishment may be presented as a list 504. Althoughillustrated as a drop-down list (e.g. the user may select arrow 512 toselect a list of establishments), each establishment of the large entitymay be presented in any known manner.

Information associated with the lost item 506 may be inputted such aswhere the item was lost, when the item was lost, and a description ofthe lost item. Additionally, a customer contact information 508 andshipping information 510 may be inputted in the lost item report. Whenthe lost item is found, the customer contact 508 and shippinginformation 510 may be used to contact the customer.

FIG. 6 illustrates a block diagram of a computing device according toone embodiment. The computing device 600 can represent circuitry of arepresentative computing device (e.g. Broker 104, lost and found server108, large entity 110 a,110 b, customer device 102 a-n) described andillustrated in FIG. 1. The computing device can be designed to primarilystationary or can be portable.

The computing device 600 includes a processor 602 that pertains to amicroprocessor or controller for controlling the overall operation ofthe computing device 600. The computing device 600 stores informationpertaining to the customer or lost item information in a file system 604and a cache 606. The file system 604 is, typically, semiconductor memory(e.g., Flash memory) and/or one or more storage disks. The file system604 typically provides high capacity storage capability for thecomputing device 600. However, since the access time to the file system604 can be relatively slow, the computing device 600 can also includethe cache 606. The cache 606 is, for example, Random-Access Memory(RAM). The relative access time to the cache 606 is typically shorterthan for the file system 604. However, the cache 606 does not have thelarge storage capacity of the file system 604. The computing device 600also includes a RAM 620 and a Read-Only Memory (ROM) 622. The ROM 622can store programs, utilities or processes to be executed in anon-volatile manner. The RAM 620 provides volatile data storage, such asfor the cache 606.

The computing device 600 may also include a user input device 608 thatallows a user of the computing device 600 to interact with the computingdevice 600. For example, the user input device 608 can take a variety offorms, such as a button, keypad, dial, touch-sensitive surface, etc.Still further, the computing device 600 includes a display 610 (screendisplay) that can be controlled by the processor 602 to displayinformation to the user. A data bus 611 can facilitate data transferbetween at least the file system 604, the cache 606, the processor 602,an audio coder/decoder (CODEC) 612 and/or a video CODEC 615.

In one embodiment, for example, if the computing device 600 (e.g. Broker104, lost and found server 108, large entity 110 a,110 b, customerdevice 102 a-n illustrated in FIG. 1) is a media player, the computingdevice 600 may store a plurality of customer information and/or lostitem information in the file system 604. If the information isencrypted, the information may first be decrypted as noted above, whichcould involve one or more layers of encryption. As an example, for audiooutput, the processor 602 can supply the media data (e.g., audio file)for the particular media item to the audio CODEC 612. The audio CODEC612 can then produce analog output signals for a speaker 614. Thespeaker 614 can be a speaker internal to the computing device 600 orexternal to the computing device 600. For example, headphones orearphones that connect to the computing device 600 would be consideredan external speaker. As another example, for video output, the processor602 can supply the media data (e.g., video file) for the particularmedia item to the video CODEC 615. The video CODEC 615 can then produceoutput signals for the display 610 and/or the speaker 614.

The computing device 600 also includes a network/bus interface 616 thatcouples to a data link 618. The data link 618 allows the computingdevice 600 to couple to another device (e.g., a host computer, a powersource, or an accessory device). The data link 618 can be provided overa wired connection or a wireless connection. In the case of a wirelessconnection, the network/bus interface 616 can include a wirelesstransceiver.

The various aspects, features, embodiments or implementations of theinvention described above can be used alone or in various combinations.Embodiments of the invention can, for example, be implemented bysoftware, hardware, or a combination of hardware and software.Embodiments of the invention can also be embodied as computer readablecode on a computer readable medium. The computer readable medium is anydata storage device that can store data which can thereafter be read bya computer system. Examples of the computer readable medium generallyinclude read-only memory and random-access memory. More specificexamples of computer readable medium are tangible and include Flashmemory, EEPROM memory, memory card, CD-ROM, DVD, hard drive, magnetictape, and optical data storage device. The computer readable medium canalso be distributed over network-coupled computer systems so that thecomputer readable code is stored and executed in a distributed fashion.

Numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thoroughunderstanding of the present invention. However, it will become obviousto those skilled in the art that the invention may be practiced withoutthese specific details. The description and representation herein arethe common meanings used by those experienced or skilled in the art tomost effectively convey the substance of their work to others skilled inthe art. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures, components,and circuitry have not been described in detail to avoid unnecessarilyobscuring aspects of the present invention.

In the foregoing description, reference to “one embodiment”, “anembodiment”, “one example” means that a particular feature, structure,or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment can beincluded in at least one embodiment of the invention. The appearances ofthe phrase “in one embodiment” in various places in the specificationare not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment, nor areseparate or alternative embodiments mutually exclusive of otherembodiments. Further, the order of blocks in process flowcharts ordiagrams representing one or more embodiments of the invention do notinherently indicate any particular order nor imply any limitations inthe invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method for reporting lostitems, comprising: receiving, via one or more computing devices, a userselection of a lost item reporting link, the lost item reporting linkbeing presented on a display associated with another computing deviceand being associated with an entity having a plurality of differentphysical establishment locations; initiating, via the one or morecomputing devices, presentment on the display, in response to the userselection of the lost item reporting link, a graphical user interface tosolicit lost item recovery information; receiving, via the one or morecomputing devices, the lost item recovery information via the graphicaluser interface, the lost item recovery information concerning a lostitem and including at least (i) a designation of one of the plurality ofdifferent physical establishment locations, (ii) description of lostitem, (iii) contact information, and (iv) shipping information for thelost item; transmitting, via the one or more computing devices, the lostitem recovery information to a third party online lost and found system,which operates to prepare a lost and found report based on the lost itemrecovery information; and initiate electronic transmission of the lostand found report to the designation of one of the plurality of differentphysical establishment locations; and initiate electronic transmissionof a notification concerning the lost item to the customer based on thecontact information, wherein the presenting of the lost item reportinglink is at the website associated with the entity having the pluralityof different physical establishments.
 2. The method as recited in claim1, wherein the method comprises: retrieving a messaging addressassociated with the designation of one of the plurality of differentphysical establishment locations; and wherein the initiating electronictransmission comprises preparing and initiating sending of an electronicmessage to the messaging address, the electronic message comprising atleast a portion of the lost and found report.
 3. The method as recitedin claim 1, wherein the notification concerning the lost itemelectronically transmitted to the customer comprises the lost and foundreport.
 4. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the presenting ofthe lost item reporting link is within an electronic mail message sentto a recent customer of at least one of the different physicalestablishments of the entity.
 5. The method as recited in claim 1,wherein the entity is a hotel provider or broker, vehicle rentalprovider or broker, or a reservation provider.
 6. A non-transitorycomputer readable medium including at least computer program code storedthereon for reporting lost items, comprising: computer program code forpresenting a graphical user interface to solicit lost item recoveryinformation, the graphical user interface being presented via a websiteassociated with an entity having a plurality of different physicalestablishment locations; computer program code for receiving the lostitem recovery information submitted via the graphical user interface,the lost item recovery information concerning a lost item and includingat least (i) a designation of one of the plurality of different physicalestablishment locations, (ii) description of lost item, (iii) contactinformation and (iv) shipping information for the lost item; computerprogram code for transmitting the lost item recovery information to athird party online lost and found system; computer program code forpreparing a lost and found report based on the lost item recoveryinformation; computer program code for initiating electronictransmission of the lost and found report to the designation of one ofthe plurality of different physical establishment locations; andcomputer program code for initiating electronic transmission of anotification concerning the lost item to the customer based on thecontact information, wherein the graphical user interface includes alist of the plurality of different physical establishment locations, andwherein the computer program code for receiving the lost item recoveryinformation submitted via the graphical user interface receives a userselection of one of the plurality of different physical establishmentsas the designation of one of the plurality of different physicalestablishment locations.
 7. The non-transitory computer readable mediumas recited in claim 6, wherein the notification concerning the lost itemelectronically transmitted to the customer comprises the lost and foundreport.
 8. The non-transitory computer readable medium as recited inclaim 6, wherein the computer readable medium comprises: computerprogram code for retrieving a contact email address from the third partyonline lost and found system, the contact email address being associatedwith the designation one of the plurality of different physicalestablishment locations.
 9. The non-transitory computer readable mediumas recited in claim 8, wherein the computer program code for initiatingelectronic transmission of the lost and found report to the designationof one of the plurality of different physical establishment locationscomprises: computer program code for initiating electronic transmissionof an email message including the lost and found report to the contactemail address associated with the designation one of the plurality ofdifferent physical establishment locations.
 10. An online lost and foundsystem, comprising: a memory to store computer program code; a databaseto store lost item information for a plurality of differentestablishments; and at least one computing device including at least oneprocessor for executing at least a portion of the computer program code,wherein the computer program code includes at least: computer programcode for receiving a lost item report concerning a lost item, the lostitem report including a lost item transaction identifier associated witha transaction associated with a person that has lost the lost item, thelost item report including at least a description of the lost item,contact information for the person, and shipping information for thelost item; computer program code for retrieving customer transactiondata associated with the lost item transaction identifier; computerprogram code for recording data for the lost item in the database;computer program code for determining a particular establishment fromthe plurality of establishments based on the lost item transactionidentifier; and computer program code for initiating notification of theparticular establishment of the lost item; computer program code forinitiating electronic transmission of a notification concerning the lostitem to the person based on the contact information; computer programcode for preparing a lost and found report based on the data for thelost item recorded in the database and at least a portion of thecustomer transaction data; computer program code for initiatingelectronic transmission of the lost and found report to at least adesignated one of the plurality of different physical establishmentlocations; and computer program code for facilitating recovery of thelost item to the person that lost the item.
 11. The online lost andfound system of claim 10, wherein the customer transaction data includesat least an indication of one of the plurality of different physicalestablishment locations were the customer was recently a customer.